For Young Entrepreneurs, the Strength is in the List

For Young Entrepreneurs, the Strength is in the List

When it comes to starting your own business, the buzzword these days is the “list,” which, of course, refers to your email list. But before you can start sending out all those enticing offers to people at their computers and on their cell phones, you need to decide what business you want to be in. The list(s) we’re talking about are the ones where you list your ten favorite things to do, and your ten greatest strengths. Let’s break it down.

Too many young entrepreneurs find themselves stymied by what they perceive as a lack of focus on any particular business direction. Stop making it so hard! You can figure this out if you’ll stop trying to invent a new wheel and content yourself with selling them. It’s true that some people have made amazing amounts of money by bringing something truly original to the market. Bill Gates and his Windows operating system is a good example. But many, MANY more people have made a heck of a lot of money simply selling something what’s already on the market. Did Ray Croc invent the hamburger? Of course not but, under the auspices of his chain franchise, McDonald’s, he certainly re-invented how to sell about a billion of them.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to limit your thinking to what you perceive to be a profitable idea. Think of some of the wacky concepts people have turned into businesses over the years and, hopefully, you’ll realize that you shouldn’t limit your imagination at this early stage of the game. So, let’s get down to the lists.

What are your ten favorite things to do? Be honest. Don’t pretend like you’re great with numbers when you’re not. Your parent’s dream of raising a solid tax accountant professional might be your dream – but it might not. Write down ten things you love to do, then ask yourself what you like about each one. This should be a voyage of discovery, because not many people take

the time to actually complete an exercise like this Once that’s complete, it’s time to crank out list number two – your ten greatest strengths. Now cross pollinate the lists to see what similarities you might find.

At that point, you should be a whole lot closer to nailing down the business idea than you were before.